John KrenosMetiu has created a significant set of volumes on undergraduate physical chemistry. The integration of Mathematica and Mathcad workbooks into the four texts provides instructors with an attractive new option in teaching.Krenos, John. J. Chem. Educ.2008, 85, 206.

Mass-Elastic Band Thermodynamics: A Visual Teaching Aid at the Introductory LevelWilliam C. GalleyDemonstrations of five spontaneous isothermal processes involving the coupling of a mass and elastic band and arising from combinations of enthalpy and entropy changes are presented and then dissected. Analogies are drawn between these processes and common spontaneous molecular events such as chemical reactions and phase transitions.Galley, William C. J. Chem. Educ.2007, 84, 1147.

Calorimetry / Thermochemistry |

Thermodynamics

Peer-Developed and Peer-Led Labs in General ChemistryLorena Tribe and Kim KostkaDescribes a student-developed and led laboratory curriculum as a model for producing a more student-centered and rich laboratory experience in general chemistry laboratories.Tribe, Lorena; Kostka, Kim. J. Chem. Educ.2007, 84, 1031.

Acids / Bases |

Electrochemistry |

Equilibrium |

Kinetics |

Laboratory Management |

Thermodynamics |

Student-Centered Learning

"Mysteries" of the First and Second Laws of ThermodynamicsRubin BattinoOver the years the subject of thermodynamics has taken on an aura of difficulty, subtlety, and mystery. This article discusses common misconceptions and how to introduce the topic to students.Battino, Rubin. J. Chem. Educ.2007, 84, 753.

Job's Analysis of the Range of the "Dalton Syringe Rocket"Natalie Barto, Brandon Henrie, and Ed VitzAn apparatus for safely igniting fuel gas/oxygen mixtures in a syringe and measuring the distance that the syringe is propelled is presented. The distance (range) is analyzed by the method of continuous variation (Job's Method) to determine the stoichiometry of the reaction.Barto, Natalie; Henrie, Brandon; Vitz, Ed. J. Chem. Educ.2006, 83, 1505.

E = mc2 for the Chemist: When Is Mass Conserved?Richard S. TreptowEinstein's famous equation is frequently misunderstood in textbooks and popular science literature. Its correct interpretation is that mass and energy are different measures of a single quantity known as massenergy, which is conserved in all processes.Treptow, Richard S. J. Chem. Educ.2005, 82, 1636.

The q/T Paradox: Which "Contains More Heat", a Cup of Coffee at 95°C or a Liter of Icewater?Ed Vitz and Michael J. SchumanIn this demonstration, heat is removed from 10 cm3 of water at ~95C and 42 cm3 of water at ~0C by adding each to a measured sample of liquid nitrogen. The heat removed from the water boils the N2(l), and the quantity of liquid nitrogen that is evaporated by boiling is determined. The quantity of heat that was absorbed is calculated from the heat of vaporization of liquid nitrogen and found to be about 10,000 J in the case of the hot water and 25,000 J in the case of the icewater.Vitz, Ed; Schuman, Michael J. J. Chem. Educ.2005, 82, 856.

Calorimetry / Thermochemistry |

Heat Capacity |

Phases / Phase Transitions / Diagrams |

Thermodynamics

Let's Drive "Driving Force" Out of ChemistryNorman C. Craig"Driving force" is identified as a misleading concept in analyzing spontaneous change. Driving force wrongly suggests that Newtonian mechanics and determinism control and explain spontaneous processes. The usefulness of the competition of ?H versus ?S in discussing chemical change is also questioned. Entropy analyseswhich consider the contributions to the total change in entropyare advocated.Craig, Norman C. J. Chem. Educ.2005, 82, 827.

Natural Products |

Bioenergetics |

Biophysical Chemistry |

Calorimetry / Thermochemistry |

Thermodynamics

Teaching Entropy Analysis in the First-Year High School Course and BeyondThomas H. BindelA 16-day teaching unit is presented that develops chemical thermodynamics at the introductory high school level and beyond from exclusively an entropy viewpoint referred to as entropy analysis. Many concepts are presented, such as: entropy, spontaneity, the second law of thermodynamics, qualitative and quantitative entropy analysis, extent of reaction, thermodynamic equilibrium, coupled equilibria, and Gibbs free energy. Entropy is presented in a nontraditional way, using energy dispersal. Bindel, Thomas H. J. Chem. Educ.2004, 81, 1585.

Thermodynamics in Context: A Case Study of Contextualized Teaching for UndergraduatesJohn Holman and Gwen PillingThermodynamics is often considered to be a dry and theoretical area of undergraduate chemistry. To make it more accessible, a contextualized approach to first-year university thermodynamics has been developed, building on the experiences at the high school level of ChemCom in the United States and Salters Advanced Chemistry in the United Kingdom. Holman, John; Pilling, Gwen. J. Chem. Educ.2004, 81, 373.

A Chemically Relevant Model for Teaching the Second Law of ThermodynamicsBryce E. Williamson and Tetsuo MorikawaPresentation of a chemically relevant model that exemplifies many aspects of the second law: reversibility, path dependence, and extrapolation in terms of electrochemistry and calorimetry.Williamson, Bryce E.; Morikawa, Tetsuo. J. Chem. Educ.2002, 79, 339.

A Visual Aid in Enthalpy CalculationsSebastian G. CanagaratnaThis article discusses the use of enthalpy-temperature diagrams for reactants and products as a visual aid in the teaching of reaction-enthalpy calculations. By the use of such diagrams the division of the process into a part involving a chemical reaction without a temperature change and a part involving only a temperature change is made visually concrete.Canagaratna, Sebastian G. J. Chem. Educ.2000, 77, 1178.

Thermodynamics |

Calorimetry / Thermochemistry

Understanding Electrochemical Thermodynamics through Entropy AnalysisThomas H. BindelThis discovery-based activity involves entropy analysis of galvanic cells. The intent of the activity is for students to discover the fundamentals of electrochemical cells through a combination of entropy analysis, exploration, and guided discovery. Bindel, Thomas H. J. Chem. Educ.2000, 77, 1031.

Boerhaave on FireDamon DiementeThis article offers a selection of passages from Boerhaave's chapter on fire. Boerhaave offers demonstrations and experiments that can be instructively performed today, quantitative data that can be checked against modern equations, and much theory and hypothesis that can be assessed in light of modern chemical ideas. Diemente, Damon. J. Chem. Educ.2000, 77, 42.

Calorimetry / Thermochemistry |

Thermodynamics

Entropy, Disorder, and FreezingBrian B. LairdIt is argued that the usual view that entropy is a measure of "disorder" is problematic and that there exist systems at high density, for which packing considerations dominate, where a spatially ordered state has a higher entropy than a disordered one. Laird, Brian B. J. Chem. Educ.1999, 76, 1388.

In Defense of Thermodynamics - An Animate AnalogySture NordholmIn order to illustrate the deepest roots of thermodynamics and its great power and generality, it is applied by way of analogy to human behavior from an economic point of view. Nordholm, Sture. J. Chem. Educ.1997, 74, 273.

Heat and Work are Not "Forms of Energy" Peckham, Gavin D.; McNaught, Ian J.Heat and work are processes by which the internal energy of a system is changed. The title reflects a common misconception used by students and instructors.Peckham, Gavin D.; McNaught, Ian J. J. Chem. Educ.1993, 70, 103.

The conversion of chemical energy: Part 1. Technological examplesWink, Donald J.When a chemical reaction occurs, the energy of the chemical species may change and energy can be released or absorbed from the surroundings. This can involve the exchange of chemical energy with another kind of energy or with another chemical system.Wink, Donald J. J. Chem. Educ.1992, 69, 108.

Thermodynamics and reactions in the dry wayTykodi, Ralph J.In dealing with reactions in the dry way, we can actually "see" in detail the workings of the thermodynamic machinery responsible for moving the reaction in the spontaneous direction. This note presents ideas at the general chemistry level.Tykodi, Ralph J. J. Chem. Educ.1986, 63, 107.

A gas kinetic explanation of simple thermodynamic processesWaite, Boyd A.Proposes a simplified, semi-quantitative description of heat, work, and internal energy from the viewpoint of gas kinetic theory; both heat and work should not be considered as forms of energy but rather as different mechanisms by which internal energy is transferred from system to surroundings.Waite, Boyd A. J. Chem. Educ.1985, 62, 224.

Thermodynamic changes, kinetics, equilibrium, and LeChatelier's principleHansen, Robert C.A series of demonstrations in which water in beakers and the flow of water between beakers is used to represent the components of an exothermic chemical reaction and the flow and quantity of thermal energy involved in chemical changes.Hansen, Robert C. J. Chem. Educ.1984, 61, 804.

Entropy as a driving forceSalzsieder, John C.An inexpensive demonstration that requires virtually no setup time (and always works!) can be used to illustrate the driving force of entropy.Salzsieder, John C. J. Chem. Educ.1981, 58, 280.

Paradigms and paradoxesCampbell, J. A.Examines the commonly held tenets "systems tend to a minimum potential energy," "the entropy of a shuffled deck of cards is greater than that of a new deck," and "energy is the ability to do work."Campbell, J. A. J. Chem. Educ.1980, 57, 41.

I. How much work can a person do?Bent, Henry A.This article relates concepts of work and energy by walking through a calculation of how much work is produced during exercise. [Debut]Bent, Henry A. J. Chem. Educ.1978, 55, 456.

An alternative to free energy for undergraduate instructionStrong, Laurence E.; Halliwell, H. FrankIt is the purpose of this paper to question the usefulness of the Gibbs function for the student and to propose an alternative based on the use of entropy functions that help the student to focus more sharply on the features of a system that relate to its capacity to change.Strong, Laurence E.; Halliwell, H. Frank J. Chem. Educ.1970, 47, 347.

Thermodynamics

Our freshmen like the second lawCraig, Norman C.The author affirms the place of thermodynamics in the introductory chemistry course and outlines a presentation that has been used with students at this level.Craig, Norman C. J. Chem. Educ.1970, 47, 342.

Thermodynamics

Sealed tube experimentsCampbell, J. A.Lists and briefly describes a large set of "sealed tube experiments," each of which requires less than five minutes to set-up and clean-up, requires less than five minutes to run, provides dramatic results observable by a large class, and illustrates important chemical concepts.Campbell, J. A. J. Chem. Educ.1970, 47, 273.

Quantities of work in thermodynamic equationsWright, P. G.Examines distinctions to be made between work done by forces exerted by external bodies and acting on a system with work done by forces exerted by the system on external bodies.Wright, P. G. J. Chem. Educ.1969, 46, 380.

Thermodynamics

Thermochemistry of hypochlorite oxidationsBigelow, M. JeromeStudents mix various proportions of aqueous sodium hypochlorite and sodium sulfite and plot the change in temperature to determine the stoichiometry of the reaction.Bigelow, M. Jerome J. Chem. Educ.1969, 46, 378.

Calorimetry / Thermochemistry |

Oxidation / Reduction |

Aqueous Solution Chemistry |

Stoichiometry |

Thermodynamics |

Mechanisms of Reactions

Chemical queries. Especially for introductory chemistry teachersYoung, J. A.; Malik, J. G.(1) Is there such a thing as a negative pH value? Or one above 14? (2) What is entropy, in terms a beginner may understand? (3) On calculating the molecular weight of a solute from concentration and freezing point depression.Young, J. A.; Malik, J. G. J. Chem. Educ.1969, 46, 36.

The use and misuse of the laws of thermodynamicsMcGlashan, M. L.Examines the first and second laws, the usefulness of thermodynamics, the calculation of equilibrium constants, and what entropy does not mean.McGlashan, M. L. J. Chem. Educ.1966, 43, 226.

Maximum work revisited (Letters)Mysels, Karol J.Comments on an earlier "Textbook Error" article that considers at length errors in the calculation of work done in compression or expansion of an ideal gas.Mysels, Karol J. J. Chem. Educ.1964, 41, 677.

Thermodynamics |

Gases

Maximum work revisited (Letters)Bauman, RobertComments on an earlier "Textbook Error" article that considers at length errors in the calculation of work done in compression or expansion of an ideal gas.Bauman, Robert J. Chem. Educ.1964, 41, 676.

Thermodynamics |

Gases

Maximum work revisited (Letters)Kokes, Richard J.Comments on an earlier "Textbook Error" article that considers at length errors in the calculation of work done in compression or expansion of an ideal gas.Kokes, Richard J. J. Chem. Educ.1964, 41, 675.

Thermodynamics |

Gases

Maximum work revisited (Letters)Bauman, RobertComments on an earlier "Textbook Error" article that considers at length errors in the calculation of work done in compression or expansion of an ideal gas.Bauman, Robert J. Chem. Educ.1964, 41, 675.

The Carnot cycle and Maxwell's relationsNash, Leonard K.Maxwells equations can be derived from nothing more than the Carnot cycle and the deployment of the simplest plane geometry.Nash, Leonard K. J. Chem. Educ.1964, 41, 368.

Thermodynamics |

Chemometrics

Work of compressing an ideal gasBauman, Robert P.In formulating examples of compression problems there should be an explicit statement that the process is reversible, or at least slow.Bauman, Robert P. J. Chem. Educ.1964, 41, 102.

Thermodynamics |

Gases

Principles of chemical reactionSanderson, R. T.The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature of chemical change in the hope of recognizing and setting forth the basic principles that help us to understand why they occur.Sanderson, R. T. J. Chem. Educ.1964, 41, 13.

Praseodymium tetrafluoridePerros, Theodore P.; Munson, Thomas R.; Naeser, Charles R.In spite of the experimental failures to prepare praseodymium tetrafluoride, there is strong evidence for its possible formation to be found by calculating the equilibrium constants for some of the reactions by which this compound might be prepared.Perros, Theodore P.; Munson, Thomas R.; Naeser, Charles R. J. Chem. Educ.1953, 30, 402.

Oxidation State |

Equilibrium |

Thermodynamics

A simple demonstration of the Carnot cycleCalingaert, GeorgeThis simple demonstration makes use of a stretched rubber band whose temperature changes are noted with the lips.Calingaert, George J. Chem. Educ.1952, 29, 405.